Since so many people have the Madrid crash on their minds, I'm going to give you my thinking so far on this accident. First, though, understand that all
the information available comes via the media from reporters whose knowledge of aviation is not sufficient to help them produce an accurate report. Second,
eye-witness reports are notoriously unreliable, and to mean much, the eye-witness needs to be an aviation professional. Or, a number of eye-witnesses report
exactly the same information.
Until last night's chat, when Cap'n Steve (who flies the same type plane at American Airlines) and I compared notes, this accident seemed to make no sense. Here's why. On every takeoff, a speed we refer to as "V-1" is computed. The most serious thing that can happen on takeoff is engine failure (with or without fire). If an engine failure occurs before V-1, the rule is the pilot stops the plane, which is very simple to do. But if an engine failure occurs after V-1, since V-1 is very close to takeoff speed, the pilots is supposed to continue the takeoff -- even though an engine has failed and even if an engine is on fire -- and then climb to a specified altitude (typically 400 feet above the runway) and then calmly and deliberately carry out the checklist to shut down the engine, and if there is a fire, put out the fire. Usually, if there is a fire, shutting off the fuel supply ends the fire problem. Nevertheless, there is fire extinguisher provided which can be remotely activated from the cockpit to be used to more quickly put out a fire. And, there is an additional fire extinguisher which can be used as a back up.
When chatting with Cap'n Steve, he said he had never flown in or out of the Madrid airport. I told him I had, and checked the internet to determine the length of the runway. As it turns out, the shortest runway is extremely long, 11,483 feet. MD-82s can fly without any problem in and out of airports with only 5,000 foot runways. It seemed incomprehensible that an engine failure could be a problem on a runway that long! But here is how it could be a problem. If the pilot passed V-1 speed, and then had an engine fire, and saw he had a huge amount of runway remaining, it could be very tempting to disregard the standard procedure (fly, fix the problem, and then land) and simply try to stop.
News reports -- which again may not be reliable -- report that more than one person reported the plane actually left the ground, and then flames from the left engine appeared. They report the plane "thudded to the ground" and then went off the runway.
If these eye-witnessess are reliable, it means the pilot did, even after being in the air, tried to quickly put the plane back on the runway. In theory, if he had done so smoothly, and successfully controlled the direction of the plane with one engine not running properly (which makes directional control more complicated), he might have avoided an accident.
But keep in mind, since returning to the runway at this point is against procedure, doing this is NEVER PRACTICED IN THE SIMULATOR. This means the pilot had no practice in performing what he apparently attempted to do. And, considering the complexity of maintaining directional control, trying to keep the plane on the runway while doing something never previously practiced may have been too much of a challenge.
This leads me to suspect that this is going to be a pilot-error accident. Again, if there is an engine problem once the plane reaches takeoff speed, the standard procedure is to take off, deal with the fire, and come back and land in a calm and deliberate fashion. Instead, it appears, the pilot instead, landed, planning to stop the plane on the runway, but lost directional control due to one engine putting out more power than another. For example, supposed when he retarded the throttles to stop, the fire had disabled the controls to the left engine, and it caused the plane to veer to the right. This underlines the wisdom of following the standard strategy. We have never had an accident when the standard procedure has been used, but have had accidents when pilots have tried to stop from takeoff speed.
The good news, I think, is that pilots practice this every year in the simulator, and the procedures are so drilled into you that I believe there is good reason for confidence that pilots will stick with the proven procedure. I think the problem for this pilot was the fact that the runways at Madrid are SO long (11,483 feet is the shortest) that the temptation to not follow the procedure to takeoff was too much.
Now, if this accident continues to bother you, shift away to what is really happening around you with the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise. In addition, you can use the Strengthening Exercise by having a cartoon character worry about this kind of accident and quickly refocus on the moment from memory you have chosen.
If you do not know these exercises, in you are flying in a day or two, click here or call me for a brief counseling session, or simply sign up for "Rapid Relief" which includes a free session, and much more. Or if flying in three days or more, sign up for "Complete Relief" at this link.
Until last night's chat, when Cap'n Steve (who flies the same type plane at American Airlines) and I compared notes, this accident seemed to make no sense. Here's why. On every takeoff, a speed we refer to as "V-1" is computed. The most serious thing that can happen on takeoff is engine failure (with or without fire). If an engine failure occurs before V-1, the rule is the pilot stops the plane, which is very simple to do. But if an engine failure occurs after V-1, since V-1 is very close to takeoff speed, the pilots is supposed to continue the takeoff -- even though an engine has failed and even if an engine is on fire -- and then climb to a specified altitude (typically 400 feet above the runway) and then calmly and deliberately carry out the checklist to shut down the engine, and if there is a fire, put out the fire. Usually, if there is a fire, shutting off the fuel supply ends the fire problem. Nevertheless, there is fire extinguisher provided which can be remotely activated from the cockpit to be used to more quickly put out a fire. And, there is an additional fire extinguisher which can be used as a back up.
When chatting with Cap'n Steve, he said he had never flown in or out of the Madrid airport. I told him I had, and checked the internet to determine the length of the runway. As it turns out, the shortest runway is extremely long, 11,483 feet. MD-82s can fly without any problem in and out of airports with only 5,000 foot runways. It seemed incomprehensible that an engine failure could be a problem on a runway that long! But here is how it could be a problem. If the pilot passed V-1 speed, and then had an engine fire, and saw he had a huge amount of runway remaining, it could be very tempting to disregard the standard procedure (fly, fix the problem, and then land) and simply try to stop.
News reports -- which again may not be reliable -- report that more than one person reported the plane actually left the ground, and then flames from the left engine appeared. They report the plane "thudded to the ground" and then went off the runway.
If these eye-witnessess are reliable, it means the pilot did, even after being in the air, tried to quickly put the plane back on the runway. In theory, if he had done so smoothly, and successfully controlled the direction of the plane with one engine not running properly (which makes directional control more complicated), he might have avoided an accident.
But keep in mind, since returning to the runway at this point is against procedure, doing this is NEVER PRACTICED IN THE SIMULATOR. This means the pilot had no practice in performing what he apparently attempted to do. And, considering the complexity of maintaining directional control, trying to keep the plane on the runway while doing something never previously practiced may have been too much of a challenge.
This leads me to suspect that this is going to be a pilot-error accident. Again, if there is an engine problem once the plane reaches takeoff speed, the standard procedure is to take off, deal with the fire, and come back and land in a calm and deliberate fashion. Instead, it appears, the pilot instead, landed, planning to stop the plane on the runway, but lost directional control due to one engine putting out more power than another. For example, supposed when he retarded the throttles to stop, the fire had disabled the controls to the left engine, and it caused the plane to veer to the right. This underlines the wisdom of following the standard strategy. We have never had an accident when the standard procedure has been used, but have had accidents when pilots have tried to stop from takeoff speed.
The good news, I think, is that pilots practice this every year in the simulator, and the procedures are so drilled into you that I believe there is good reason for confidence that pilots will stick with the proven procedure. I think the problem for this pilot was the fact that the runways at Madrid are SO long (11,483 feet is the shortest) that the temptation to not follow the procedure to takeoff was too much.
Now, if this accident continues to bother you, shift away to what is really happening around you with the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise. In addition, you can use the Strengthening Exercise by having a cartoon character worry about this kind of accident and quickly refocus on the moment from memory you have chosen.
If you do not know these exercises, in you are flying in a day or two, click here or call me for a brief counseling session, or simply sign up for "Rapid Relief" which includes a free session, and much more. Or if flying in three days or more, sign up for "Complete Relief" at this link.



